What happens when AI starts to feel like a companion?

In this episode, we explore AI friendships, loneliness, emotional attachment, and the line between a helpful tool and a harmful replacement. Hosts, Daniel Bernal, Carolyn Huffman, and Jeff Deaton are joined by licensed marriage and family therapist Kelly Wiley, LMFT, for a thoughtful and sometimes humorous conversation about AI companions, emotional attachment, and mental health. Together, they explore where AI can be useful—and where it could potentially erode the human relationships we need most.

Highlights:

Why AI relationships feel so real?

When therapists get concerned

Red Flags to watch out for

Impact on adolescents